Holiday cocktails...

I was a bartender in a former life and I loved making "pretty drinks" when the holidays rolled around. At home, I'm kind of partial to the punchbowl rather than setting up a full bar.

The Whiskey Slushies absolute ROCK! I make it twice a year - at Christmas and once in the summer for a long holiday trip to the river to visit with Mom & Dad. In years past, I have been able to find 7-up or Ginger ale in "red" flavors like pomegranate and cherry. Mom still wants "regular" 7-up with it but the red mixers do make the drink very pretty!

CHEERS!

10 Holiday Cocktails for Office Parties

If you do decide to create a full bar for your holiday party, you must have the right tools! Your bartender needs a jigger more than anything. This kit includes the jigger, wine service and a shaker and these will last forever!

Thanksgiving Bread Stuffing Recipe

I love stuffing!

No - not that nasty boxed crap that you boil water, add butter and then throw in the rock-hard chunks of bread (?) crumbs. I want to start with three kinds of bread, chop the veggies, use my own broth or the broth from roasting the turkey. I want to smell it as all the flavors come together.

I love the texture and flavor that you get when the stuffing is actually STUFFED inside the Thanksgiving turkey. Yeah, yeah - people have gotten sick from improperly stuffed turkey on Thanksgiving. But - they did it wrong. Yes, they did it wrong.

Safely stuffing a turkey involves two important details - don't stuff the bird until you are heating the oven on Thanksgiving morning. This means you can't whip it all together the night before, stuff the bird and leave it in the refrigerator overnight to save time in the morning. The other detail is the turkey has to be completely thawed. Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday - this means you need to put the turkey into the refrigerator to thaw no later than Sunday. Don't try the water in the sink method on Wednesday night. Someday, I'll tell you about the phone call I got from my daughter on Thanksgiving eve and her frozen turkey.

But, you can save a little Thanksgiving morning time with some prep work the night before. Go ahead and slice the bread, put it in your mixing bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Chop the veggies and keep them in the fridge. In the morning, saute the veggies, mix everything up and stuff it in the bird.

I don't trust those pop-up thingies to tell me that my Thanksgiving turkey is done. I've had those babies pop and the bird was still raw on the inside. The best investment I've ever made was a digital thermometer for the kitchen. I use that thing for EVERYTHING! Even if the temperature of the bird seems OK, check the temp of the stuffing. No, not at the very back end - stick it deep inside the stuffing itself - it should be at least 160 degrees to be safe. If it isn't, cover everything back up and put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes - that won't be enough to kill the turkey and honestly, wouldn't you rather have moist, delicious stuffing that doesn't poison anyone? 

Yeah, my turkey NEVER comes to the table like this, either! Courtesy davidlat via sxc.hu

Debbie's Bread Stuffing - stuffs an 8-11 pound turkey

1 cup butter

2 cups diced celery

1 ½ cups diced onion

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

2 teaspoons ground sage

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 cups fresh white bread cubes, lightly packed

4 cups fresh wheat bread cubes, lightly packed

                                   4 cups fresh rye bread cubes, lightly packed

                                   3 large eggs, well beaten

Sauté celery and onions in butter over medium heat approximately 10 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften. Add seasonings and mix well. In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes and vegetable mixture, tossing gently. Add beaten eggs and stir gently to combine. Immediately spoon bread stuffing mixture into cleaned cavity of thawed turkey.

To bake separately in a pan, omit the salt and add 1 15 oz. can of chicken broth to bread stuffing mixture. Loosely spoon the mixture into a greased square or oblong baking dish. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue to bake for 15 minutes until stuffing is lightly browned on top.

Scalloped Potatoes for Thanksgiving? Three recipes

Are you gravy challenged? I'm 45 years old and have finally gotten comfortably with my "gravy-ness" within the last few years. Wondra WAS my life-saver, but now I can use flour, cornstarch, a roux that Harry rocks and get yummy gravy no matter what I started with. Oh, and a few lumps are perfectly acceptable!

I like scalloped potatoes because you don't have to make gravy. Have you ever read the label on one of those jars? Even worse, one of the packaged mixes???? AAAGH! More multi-syllable words than you can shake a stick at.

Thanksgiving Dinner doesn't have to include mashed potatoes and gravy. Repeat after me: "Thanksgiving Dinner doesn't have to include mashed potatoes and gravy." Repeat again.

Yes, I dream of the Thanksgiving dinners of my childhood with the turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy...on and on and on. But, why torture yourself or settle for a jar of gravy when you can change up the menu to include scalloped potatoes? Oh, and scalloped potatoes always seem to reheat easier than mashed potatoes.

Don't you feel better already? You rebel, you.

By the way - I LOVE cooking with Granite Ware! I have 3 oval roasting pans in different sizes, plus a huge Granite Ware pan for lasagna. No matter what sticky (scalloped potatoes), messy (scalloped potatoes) semi-burned on sometimes (scalloped potatoes) casserole I cook, it's so easy to clean.

Scalloped potatoes can also be cooked in a slow cooker, eliminating the need for a stovetop burner or space in the oven. I have adapted my family's scalloped potatoes recipe for the slow cooker. Please keep in mind, when using a slow cooker it is necessary to allow plenty of cooking time. Starting the scalloped potatoes the night before your Thanksgiving dinner will allow sufficient time to cook, and alleviate preparation on the day of your dinner.

Slow Cooker Scalloped Potatoes - Serves 8-10

3 pounds russet potatoes, well- scrubbed, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

1 14 oz. can evaporated milk

1 15 oz. can creamed corn

4 tablespoons butter, diced

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

sea salt to taste

additional heavy cream, whole milk or half and half, if desired

Spray the inside of a 3 ½ quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker, except the additional cream. Cover and cook at Low heat for 8-10 hours. Remove cover 30 minutes before serving to allow sauce to thicken, if necessary. If the sauce is too thick, thin it with additional cream. If your slow cooker has a "warm" setting, scalloped potatoes will hold very well.

Traditional Scalloped Potatoes - Serves 6

3 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, diced

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 ½ cups milk (not skim), warmed

2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a heavy medium saucepan, sauté onion in butter over low heat until onion begins to soften. Add flour and cook, about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Using a wire whisk, slowly add milk, whisking continuously to prevent lumps. Increase heat to medium, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and begins to boil. Reduce heat to simmer, and continue to stir for 1 minute. Add salt and pepper and remove from heat.

Grease a 9-inch square baking dish or shallow 2-quart casserole. Place a single layer of potato slices on the bottom of dish and cover with ½ of the white sauce. Repeat the layers. Cover the dish and bake for 1 hour. Remove the cover and bake for 30 minutes, until potatoes are soft and top is lightly browned.

Allow to stand for 15 minutes before serving so that sauce will thicken.

While traditional scalloped potatoes are made with a creamy white sauce, in my area many people enjoy a cheesy potato casserole instead. Starting with frozen cubed potatoes, the preparation is very quick and is another dish that can easily be made in a slow cooker.

Cheesy Potato Casserole - Serves 10-12

1 32-oz. bag frozen cubed hash brown potatoes, thawed

 1 4-cup bag shredded cheddar cheese

1 10 ¾ oz cream of chicken soup

1 10 ¾ oz cream of mushroom soup

1 medium onion, diced

1 8 oz. container sour cream

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

½ teaspoons sea salt

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Spray the inside of a 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Combine all ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook, covered, at High heat for 4-5 hours. Remove cover during last 30-45 minutes of cooking to allow mixture to thicken.